Polk Audio OWM3 Wall Speakers Review (Immersive Performance)

The Polk Audio OWM3 speakers produced clear & crisp audio with a wide dispersion design that further enhanced immersion. Fantastic as surround speakers, their output was detailed & nuanced — making for an entertaining experience. Due to their unique shape, they could also be wall mounted in a variety of ways.

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Their Features & Specs

A particularly interesting thing about these speakers is their placement capabilities

In fact, there’s about 7 different ways they can be placed.

Let’s say you have an abnormal wall where one side is flat, but the other side angles outward.

With the OWM3s, you could place them lengthwise, width wise, or even along a corner to fit that situation.

They even have individual shelf mounts to cradle the speakers, allowing them to sit upright if you didn’t want to hang them on the wall.

On the specifications side of things, these speakers feature what Polk calls a Dynamic Composite Cone Driver.

This 4 ½inch driver is made of polypropylene, which makes it lightweight yet stiff — allowing it to play at high volumes without distorting.

The 1 inch fabric dome tweeter included also allows it to nail those high notes as well.

Their frequency response goes from 100Hz-22,000 kHz, they can handle 20-100 watts, and have an 8ohm impedance.

They also have a sensitivity of 89 dB.

There’s also 5 way binding posts included which allows you to wire them however you want to — be it via banana plugs, pin plugs, etc.

The speakers also have an acoustic suspension enclosure & what Polk calls Capacitive Coupling Bass Technology for a deeper bass.

Improving a speakers bass can sometimes be challenging, so it’s nice to see that tech used here.

In terms of their actual size, they come in at 7 inches wide, 10 inches tall, and about 4 1/8 inches deep which is pretty slim.

The OWM3’s slim design is helpful for wall mounting them — since they don’t stick out too much if you decide to position them a different way.

There’s also a 5 year warranty which is helpful.

They also happen to be timbre matched, meaning they’ll sound good with speakers from the Polk line.

They’re also only 4 pounds each which makes wall placement easier.

On the back, there’s even two cross shaped key holes for the speaker to rest on if you decide to wall mount them differently.

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Setting Up The Speakers Was Pretty Straightforward

Now like I alluded to before, how you orient your speakers may differ from mine since not every room is the same shape.

In my case, all I had to do was secure the screw into the wall, then align the speaker so that the screw went into the keyhole.

This allowed the speaker to comfortably rest against the wall.

That was after I installed pin plugs on the wires to run the wire sideways since I wanted the speakers flush with the wall.

But in terms of the overall setup and installation process though, it was pretty straightforward.

The Speakers Had Great Sound Quality

The upper frequency ranges were really clear, and the sound effects these speakers produced were realistic and immersive.

I found that setting them about 2 feet above my ear level seated gave the best result with providing a quality soundstage in my home theater.

If you’re planning on using these to watch movies by the way, then a subwoofer for the lower bass aspect also helps.

But as surround speakers, the OWM3s shine in my opinion.

When I used them as surrounds with the Signature Elite ES10s and a PSW10 subwoofer, sound effects to the sides and back (ordered another pair for rear surrounds) were enveloping and engaging.

They certainly enhanced my listening experience with whatever content was on screen.

Be it video games or movies, surround effects were detailed and nuanced — yet remained loud enough to really create an appreciable difference.

I noticed that when some speakers deal with surround sound content, there sometimes isn’t a huge enough difference to really even notice it.

But these speakers handled surround effects beautifully which made listening really engaging.

For example, I had these speakers playing during a movie with guests over, and during it there was a time where they’d ask me if I heard a noise.

I told them it was the effects from the speakers to which we all laughed about how convincing it seemed.

In my opinion, that’s a sign of good speakers.

Basically, I say that to say this; if you’re looking for a great surround speaker that’s extremely versatile, then this is without a doubt a great choice to go with in my opinion.

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I Noticed They Were Well Protected When Unboxing Them

So when you first open up the box, you’ll immediately notice a bunch of stuff on top.

This includes information regarding the warranty, a little setup guide, a pamphlet detailing the different orientations that the speaker can be set, and adhesive bumpers.

I think the fact that they included a booklet showing all the different ways the speakers can be set is a cool addition, since some may not be aware they’re capable of being positioned that way.

Under the styrofoam inserts are the speakers, wrapped in plastic and sitting in their own little space.

They Had A Nice Looking Appearance

When taking the speakers out the box, I noticed they weren’t too heavy and were pretty compact themselves.

I personally felt their shape was pretty cool too; with a rectangular front, and somewhat curved back that goes inward.

The material is a hard matte plastic with a very slight texture to it that felt nice.

They have a removable grille as well for those of you that like to visibly see the drivers.

In terms of the drivers themselves, there’s a midbass driver in the middle, and a soft dome tweeter right above it.

There’s also the subdued Polk branding debossed on the bottom.

I personally got mine in black, but they also come in white as well.

Overall, it’s a simple yet attractive design that looks good in person.

Likes

• Works great as a home theater surround sound speaker
• Directional surround sound cues were amazing
• Can be oriented many different ways including horizontal and vertical
• 5 Way Binding posts allows you to use any connection type including banana and pin plugs
• Relatively small meaning it’ll fit in a good number of locations

Dislikes

• Stand can be a little tricky to fit on

Final thoughts

Overall, there’s not much to dislike about the Polk OWM3, but there’s certainly a lot to like about these speakers — and that’s definitely the draw here.

These are fantastic surround speakers that gets loud despite their small size.

To summarize, they’re definitely worth it, and are currently a part of my own sound system which says a lot.

If you’ve been looking for an awesome surround speaker that has great sound quality, then this one is a solid choice.

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Jay

Hey everyone it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jay, writer & founder of the site Easy Home Theater. I’ve been with the hobby of home entertainment for many years now. I decided to create this site to be a helpful resource, and share everything that I’ve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff (love weightlifting)

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